Power Play

Beijing Olympics 2022: The politics of boycotts

A US boycott of next year's Winter Olympics might wound Beijing's pride, but it won't change China's human rights policies. • Power Play is a weekly column that looks at various facets of US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia.

China had planned a grand torch relay for the 2008 Summer Olympics, a coming-out party where it could flex its diplomatic and economic muscles on a global stage.

But the relay, which spanned continents and even featured a climb up Mount Everest, was repeatedly disrupted in San Francisco, London and Paris by activists protesting against Beijing's crackdown in Tibet.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 09, 2021, with the headline Beijing Olympics 2022: The politics of boycotts. Subscribe